Abstract
Norris' AERA award-winning book Playbuilding as Qualitative Research: A Participatory
Arts-Based Approach is a welcomed research text which makes a valuable contribution for
researchers, artists and educators interested in using theatre to engage in arts-based research.
His book comes at a time when a number of important international scholars interested in
applying theatre as a research methodology are sharing book length works: Judith Ackroyd &
John O'Toole (2010) Performing Research: Tensions, Triumphs and Trade-offs of
Ethnodrama; Tara Goldstein (2011) Staging Harriet's House: Writing and Producing
Research-informed Theatre; and Johnny Saldana (2011) Ethnotheatre: Research from Page to
Stage. These scholars respectively provide their valuable and insightful perspectives on
theatre's potential to inform/enhance research. For his part, Norris clearly articulates how and
why playbuilding (based upon collective creation) can be an insightful and valid approach for
researchers and artists to consider for their work.